Monday, June 7, 2010

New SSKA terminal building to be completed on time for World Cup

source: Republic of Botswana (21/5/10) TAUTONA TIMES for May 2010The Electronic Press Circular of the Office of the President"Democracy, Development, Dignity, Discipline and Delivery"

C5) 5/5/10: New SSKA terminal building to be completed on time for World Cup

The new Sir Seretse Khama Airport (SSKA) terminal is near completion and will be handed over before the end of the month for immediate operations.

The state of the art terminal, which has been designed to promote SSKA as an international gateway into the SADC region, will thus be opened in time for this year's FIFA World Cup competition in neighbouring South Africa.

The news of the terminal's on time delivery was among the key announcements made by H.H. the Vice President in his opening of discussion of the 16th Progress Report of the Cabinet Committee of Economy and Employment, which was considered this week by the Economic Committee of Cabinet.

The report focused on ongoing progress of the Innovation, Education and Transport Hubs, as well as Government's commitment to eradicate poverty.

Among the report's other highlights was the announcement that 18 citizen Form 5 Achievers (each with a minimum of 6A*) will be sponsored by Government this year for further study as the first intake of the new "Top Achievers Scholarship."

The students will be pursuing studies in medicine, engineering, business and finance at leading global academic institutions. The scholarship is thus aimed at preparing select Batswana with leadership skills as part of Government's overall strategy of achieving sustainable development through excellence.

At the meeting it was also announced that a Road Map for Poverty Eradication has been drafted, which delineates Government's action plan to ensure that the country is on the path of eradicating absolute poverty. This will be achieved by empowering marginalised members of the community away from dependency towards wealth creating activities. Key to this people centred development strategy will be establishing sustainable frameworks of support for small and medium scale industries in rural communities and among the youth.

In a press conference yesterday H.H. the Vice President described the eradication of poverty as an urgent moral imperative that has now become a flagship project for Government.